It's as if God knew that unbelieving Man would do everything he could to disprove the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Hence He gave us four accounts of it through the eyes of four different characters - Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. We note the variations in their accounts but all are in accord with the astonishing fact - that Jesus had risen from the dead. In our courts of law, witnesses of the crime are worth their weight in gold - especially when there are a number. So God made sure that we have the personal accounts of many witnesses who saw Jesus, talked with Him, ate with Him - up to 500! That’s very strong proof in any court of law! One other remarkable feature of Jesus’ appearances is that initially His disciples didn’t believe He had risen - they had to be convinced - like Thomas! They should have believed because Jesus had repeatedly told them that “the Son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him & on the third day He will be raised to life.” (Matt. 17:22-23) Their disbelief had to be overcome. Why is it so important that Jesus rose from the dead? - Well, our salvation, our forgiveness, our justification, our eternal life depends on it! It is vital beyond belief! “He was delivered over to death for our sins & was raised to life for our justification! (Rom. 4:25) If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:17) The proofs are there in scripture - clear as crystal! Rejoice & be glad this resurrection morning! Be assured that Christ has risen, ascended to heaven & sits at the Father’s right hand in His resurrection Body! Go & live in its power & joy! Speaker: Ross Patterson

The world’s major religions all have a symbol which sets them apart from the others. Buddhists have the lotus flower, Jews the Star of David and Muslims the crescent. But why do Christians have the cross? It hardly seems fitting. A cross was the most terrible and painful means of capital punishment ever devised. No Roman citizen could be crucified. The Jews knew it meant the person hanging was cursed by God. Yet Christians glory in the cross. We sing about it. We preach it. We give thanks for it. Why? Luke 23:44-46 gives us the clue. It shows us that Jesus’ cross was NO ORDINARY CROSS and helps us understand why today can truly be called Good Friday. Preacher: John de Boer

The last Afternoon Service of the year will be spent celebrating Christmas through carols and few short prayers, a kids talk, readings and reflections. Kids are encouraged to stick around during the afternoon to hear and participate in a few items, and dinner will be served directly afterwards. This will be an opportunity to invite those in your own families, friends and communities to join us - dressing up is encouraged!

Abuse is a scourge on the modern-day church. An anathema. A twisting and inversion of the church’s purpose – to be a safe haven and a place of healing for the broken. And while abuse happens everywhere, stemming from the corrupted human heart, it is the church (and leaders in particular) who are held to the highest account. The only hope for us is to seek, and advocate, the redemption of Jesus, and to work, as a village, for the transformation of its culture. We are to strive to be earth’s reflection of the refuge of God.

One of the perceptions of Christians and churches is that they’re too preoccupied with getting money out of people and they’re too often mismanaging the money they get. And while it’s true that greed infects Christians as much as anyone else (which often plays out in the running of the church), it’s definitely not the way that Jesus has urged us to live. The call in the Bible to give generously is never about obligation, but about gratitude for the grace of God. That grace should be the motivation for all giving, and that grace should be the attitude in which all resources are used (and shared, invested and passed on). Speaker: Dan Kroon

"They don't really care about me – about getting to know me or understand me." "They can't accept me for who I am – I'm not good enough for them." "They only care about getting 'converts'." Is this way that your colleagues and neighbours feel about Christians? Is this the way that you feel about Christians? This Sunday afternoon (4pm) we'll talk about the ways Christians have focussed too much on numbers, and why we think 'conversion' is important in the first place.

For this Sunday afternoon service we have the opportunity to explore another common argument our society has against the Christian faith – and one that is not without merit, with many Christians, including some key leaders having succumbed to this type of behaviour and characteristic. What behaviour is it? The sin of hypocrisy. Or, in colloquial terms, being “two-faced” or “fake”. Publicly appearing and declaring to be something that does not match up with someone’s private life. Does the fact that Christians sometimes still act hypocritically nullify the Christian faith? To answer this question we’ll be turning to the words of the central figure of the Christian faith – to Jesus Christ himself. By doing so, we not only see how fiercely he spoke against this terrible human trait. But we also see what he did to overcome it through the Gospel. Speaker: Timothy Gray

Sometimes Christmas can be incredibly busy! Between the packed shopping centres, epic lunches & dinners, the juggle of extended family dynamics; it can totally do your head in! But does it need to be this way? Isn’t there a simpler approach?